Valentine’s Day is fast approaching… For the occasion, Aloha is presenting an exquisite exhibition “Of love”, presented at the Palais de la découverte until August 30th 2020, questioning the mysterious feeling that is Love through scientific and artistic works.

Starting at the gallery of attachments…

We start the visit with the gallery of attachments which presents various objects, poems, quotes and images, all analysed through the four Greek words Love. While French and English only use the term “love”, Greek uses four words: Erōs, desire, carnal passion; Storgê, family orientated love; Agapē, selfless love and Philia, friendship, social bond. There are various scientific researches on love and they come together in what is called the affective science allowing to better understand the cogs of this universal feeling that is Love.

…At the science gallery

As always at the Palais de la Découverte, the exhibition “Of love” offers dozens of experiences to understand what happens in our brain when we are attracted to a person or when we feel affection for that person. In the gallery of sciences, the physical and hormonal phenomena that come to play on feelings are deciphered. Attachment, sexuality and empathy are spread by the same molecules, trigger the secretion of the same hormones and use the same neural circuits.

Part of the exhibition is dedicated to the evolution of love with the arrival of dating sites and another to sexuality, highlighting an interesting link between sex and love that isn’t that obvious: one can desire without love and love without desire. Feel free to come with your over 15 year olds to shed light on these subjects which are more present than ever during adolescence.

What is love? Empathy? Attachment? So many questions that are sometimes difficult to answer… Don’t wait any longer, head to the Palais de la Découverte which enables you to decipher all these questions through an exciting exhibition.